


Flowers In Your Hair

by evrndeen



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-15
Updated: 2014-11-15
Packaged: 2018-02-25 11:45:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2620577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evrndeen/pseuds/evrndeen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story about two boys and their secret hideaway</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flowers In Your Hair

Going to the park with Haru was one of Mako’s favourite things to do. There was a certain area that they visited together. A small patch of the park where flowers grew outside of the organised boxes and spread like they knew they weren’t supposed to be there and were enjoying their freedom. They had stumbled upon this space by accident, after a lengthy game of hide and seek in which Mako started crying when he thought he had lost Haru. Of course Haru hadn’t gotten lost, he had just wandered off and found the flowers and without a second thought, sat down in them. Haru ran his fingers through the stems, occasionally plucking one from the ground and holding the delicate white flower in front of his face before setting it back down on the ground. At the sound of Mako crying, Haru had stood up and rushed towards his best friend, calming him down as soon as he reached him. Mako wiped his wet green eyes with his sleeve before Haru took his hand and led him to the flowers without saying a word. They both sat down, hands still clasped together even though Mako had stopped crying and was perfectly fine now. With his free hand, Haru gently tugged a flower from the ground and passed it to Mako who held it tightly until it was time for both of them to go home. No words had to be spoken between them for both of them to know that the place they had discovered that day was special to them. 

It became a hiding spot for them. Whenever they needed to get away from the world, that secluded area of flowers is where they would go. If Mako had a bad day, Haru knew that he would find his friend among the white flowers. When Haru argued with his distant parents over the phone, Mako knew exactly where he would go and would sit facing him, legs crossed as Haru plucked the flowers from the ground. They never spoke a word to each other once they reached the bed of flowers and were more than content to just sit with each other. There were no awkward silences between Mako and Haru, especially when they were sat facing each other in that secret space that seemed to have been placed there just for them. 

However, there was a moment when this changed. During third grade, Haru couldn’t go on a field trip because his parents weren’t there to sign the consent form and so he had spent the rest of the day being mercilessly teased by his classmates. Mako had done his best to try and stop them but his short height meant that no one took him seriously. When the final bell rang, Haru rushed out of the classroom before Mako had a chance to catch up with him. It didn’t matter though because he knew exactly where Haru was going. 

When Mako reached the park, he didn’t go straight to the flower bed. Instead he went to the ice cream truck that was always in the park and got a double blue ice pop to share with Haru. He knew it was Haru’s favourite and he wanted to cheer him up. On the way to the park, Mako had decided that he wouldn’t go on the field trip. After all, what was the point of going on a field trip when Haru wasn’t there to enjoy it with him? Mako made his way to the flowers and wasn’t surprised to see Haru sitting there. What did surprise him was the fact that Haru was pulling a lot of the flowers out of the grass. Mako watched from around the corner, hidden by a tall hedge, and saw that Haru had started pinching the stems in half and threading them through each other. After a few minutes of confusion, Mako realised that Haru was making a daisy chain. The ice pops were starting to melt so Mako walked over to Haru, holding out half of it. Haru placed the daisy chain on the floor and took the ice pop from Mako as he sat down. They ate in silence and Haru continued to pick flowers from the ground. Once they had both finished, Mako watched more closely as Haru pinched the stems and weaved them together. 

Mako lost track of time as Haru’s chain got longer and longer but he didn’t want to leave just yet. He would spend forever here with Haru if he could. When the sun had started sinking in the sky, Mako nudged Haru lightly, breaking him out of his trance. Haru looked up from the long daisy chain in his lap and held a finger up to Mako, silently telling him that he only needed one more minute. Mako looked on as Haru folded the chain in on itself multiple times, forming it into a crown. Without giving it a second thought, Haru lifted the flower crown from his lap and placed it gently on Mako’s head. It fit perfectly. Mako couldn’t help but smile at Haru, poking his blue tongue out between his teeth. The corners of Haru’s mouth tugged upwards into a small smile as he stood up and pulled the smaller boy to his feet. 

Over time this became a small tradition for them, and every time they went to the park, Haru would make a flower crown for Mako as soon as they sat down. Mako wouldn’t take it off until it was time for them to go home and would always leave it in the grass among the other flowers. Time after time, Mako had tried to make a crown for Haru but he always failed. His fingers weren’t as nimble as Haru’s and he couldn’t pinch the stems delicately enough which meant that they always ripped completely. But he didn’t give up. Mako never gave up and it was this endearing quality that made Haru feel grateful to have him as a friend. Many people gave up on Haru, taking his silence as rudeness. But Mako knew that that was just the way Haru was and he wouldn’t have him any other way. This is also why Mako wasn’t afraid to fail in front of Haru and continued to try and make the flower crowns.

On the last day before they both went to Tokyo together, they decided to make one last visit to the park. They stopped off at the ice cream truck and got blue ice pops before making their way to their secret space. They sat down in their usual spots facing each other and began to pull the flowers from the ground. Mako took a deep breath before breaking the silence. It was the first time either of them had spoken here and sensing that this would be the last time they ever sat here, Mako wanted to talk about the memories they had here. He asked Haru if he remembered the first time they had ever sat here together, in the exact same places. Haru simply nodded. How could he forget? It was one of the best days of his life. It was the day he realised that Mako needed him as much as he needed Mako. It was the day he knew that their friendship was unlike any other.

Mako continued to bring up memories of the past and Haru smiled at his best friend. As he retold the stories, Mako tried to make a flower crown. This would probably be the last time they ever came here and he was determined to make one without having it fall apart as soon as he tried to lift it out of his lap. He worked carefully, taking more time than he usually would to pinch the stems and thread them together. He still carried on talking as they both sat there, weaving the stems together. 

The sun started to set, the world’s way of telling them that it was time to go. Haru nudged Mako lightly but Mako just held up a finger, silently telling Haru that he just needed one more minute. Haru watched as Mako used the tips of his fingers to weave the final two flowers together. He doubled the chain over itself three times before slowly lifting it up from his lap. Haru’s blue eyes widened as Mako raised the crown to the head of the other boy. Mako winced slightly as the crown fell straight down to rest on Haru’s shoulders rather than his head. He let go of the crown, leaving it hanging like a necklace around Haru’s neck before standing up. This was his last chance to get it right and he had failed once again. It was way too big to fit on Haru’s head, a complete waste of time. All of those times that Haru had made them for him and he couldn’t even do it once. When he stood up, he held his hand out for Haru and pulled up the shorter boy, trying not to look at him. He didn’t want to see the disappointment in Haru’s eyes. Mako started to walk away but Haru didn’t let go of his hand. He gently tugged Mako towards him, forcing the tall brown haired boy to look at him. Mako couldn’t believe that he hadn’t seen Haru’s smile earlier. Haru’s smile was one of Mako’s favourite things about him. Mako couldn’t help but smile back as Haru kept the daisy chain around his neck and held onto Mako’s hand long after they had left the park. 

****

They had decided to move in with each other in Tokyo. There was no point in them both living alone when they had each other and honestly, neither of them could imagine facing the next few years of their lives without the other. They slept in the same room, using the other as storage and although they both had single beds, every night they would push them together. They both lied to themselves, pretending that the only reason they shared the beds was because they were still anxious about living in a new place. But after months of living in Tokyo, the beds had not been separated. Sometimes they woke up and found that in the middle of the night one of them had moved closer to the other. Other times they woke to find their hands joined together in the middle of the beds and neither wanted to be the first to pull away. 

One lazy Sunday morning, woken by the sun peeking through a small gap in the closed curtains, they held hands. It was one of the few conscious times they had ever done it and neither was sure who had initiated it but they didn’t want to be the first one to let go. They lay on their sides, facing each other. Mako pushed Haru’s black unruly hair out of his blue eyes and for a few moments his hand lingered over his face. Haru smiled at Mako but didn’t push the hair out his eyes. He liked the way it fell over his green eyes, the brown and green reminding him of the park. They looked at each other, discovering new things. Haru had never noticed that Mako had small freckles that dotted his nose. Mako had never noticed that Haru’s eyes were blue with small specks of grey. It was small things like this that made it seem like they were seeing each other for the first time. It was hard to figure out who had made the first move but soon their lips were pressed together tentatively. They pulled away at the same time and looked at each other as if they had just discovered the secrets of the universe. They didn’t leave their bed that day, deciding to spend as much time as they could together. They fell asleep that night with their hands intertwined and their foreheads pressed together. 

When it was time for them to move out of this apartment and into a new one for their second year, they knew that they would have to buy a double bed. As they packed their items away into boxes, Mako passing stuff to Haru who was better at placing everything in the right place, they talked about the past. They reminisced about the park, wondering if when they visited home they could go back to it. They imagined the future, not even daring to think about one without each other. Haru left the room to sort other boxes out, leaving Mako to pack their various books away. Mako picked them up in stacks and placed them in the box so that they fit perfectly. As he picked up the last stack he noticed a book that he hadn’t seen before in the middle of it. He put the stack back down and pulled the book out. It was a small notebook with a plain green cover. Mako flicked through the empty pages until he reached the middle of the book where there was a small bump between two pages. He pulled the pages apart carefully and saw a daisy chain. The daisy chain that he had made for Haru the last time they had gone to the park together. The petals were still white and the stems still green. Mako didn’t want to touch the delicate crown for fear of it falling apart in his hands. Mako is too overwhelmed at the sight of it to notice that Haru had come back into the room. Haru padded over to Mako silently and said nothing as he took the book from Mako and pressed the flowers back between the pages, clutching the book to his chest as he stood on his toes to press his lips to the cheek of the crying boy in front of him.


End file.
